Match Report : 22/10/2016

22 October 2016

A late goal from Yohan Cabaye wasn't enough to give Palace anything from their trip to Leicester City's King Power Stadium, as the Premier League champions capitalised on the Eagles' loss of momentum to take the three points.

Crystal Palace visited the home of the champions on the back of one defeat in six matches but manager Alan Pardew was forced into one change with Jason Puncheon missing out through injury.

Early danger for the visitors as Steve Mandanda gave the ball away to Shinji Okazaki and he tried to lob the keeper but it went wide of the target in an early let off.

Palace also on the attack early saw an Yohan Cabaye strike a shot towards goal from distance but it curled just wide of Kasper Schmeichel’s goal.

On 13 minutes Christian Benteke nearly added to his Palace account when he got on the end of a cross from Martin Kelly but he saw his header strike the crossbar with the ‘keeper beaten but from the rebound the ball was cleared.

Palace started the game well and just a minute later Cabaye was found by Wilfried Zaha in space down the left hand side and the France international put the ball back into the box but no one was there to get on the end of the low cross.

At the half hour mark after some pressure from Leicester, they forced a couple of corners and the best chance saw Islam Slimani put a header well wide of Mandanda’s goal from Christian Fuchs set-piece.

Riyad Mahrez’s powerful left-footed shot took a deflection off Okazaki’s head from close range but went wide of the Palace goal as the Champions finished the half strong in possession.

The breakthrough came three minutes before the break as Ahmed Musa fired home past Mandanda from just inside the Palace box after collecting a pass from Slimani as the home side took the lead in the closing stages of the half.

That lead was very nearly extended as the second half got under way as Danny Simpson's cross was perfectly met by Slimani with his head but he put the ball into the side netting.

Good combination play from the midfield as Joe Ledley and Cabaye forced a chance as Alan Pardew's side tried to get back into the game but the France international ended the move by putting his shot over the bar.

The champions, pushed on with some great vocal support from their sell out crowd, put together some sustained pressure in the early stages of the half and Danny Drinkwater was picked out on the edge of the box but he saw his shot deflected behind.

It was not long before the second goal did come though, Drinkwater's cross was cut out by Damien Delaney but the loose ball falls to Okazaki who makes no mistake firing home the second goal of the afternoon into the corner of the net from inside the box.

Palace soon had a chance to get back in the match as Zaha found himself with an opportunity but his effort was parried out for a corner by Schmeichel.

Two changes from the bench for the visitors as Chung yong-Lee and Fraizer Campbell came on and soon after it was again Schmeichel who denied Palace. He was on hand to get on the ground to push out wide a shot with his legs from Cabaye.

From the resulting corner Benteke had a header cleared off the line by Simpson.

A shot from just outside the box from Fuchs with eleven minutes to go as he collected a ball across the box and fired home to confirm Leicester remain unbeaten at home since September 2015.

Yohan Cabaye pulled one back for the Eagles with five minutes of the 90 remaining, meeting a low cross from Zaha with a first time effort and guiding it beyond the diving Schmeichel - but it was too late to really threaten the home side's lead.